Base of Operations
by Trainmaster64
Summary: Rosie begins to behave very strangely when the army sets up a base of operations on Sodor near Thomas' branchline. 1/5


The engines were gathered at Tidmouth Sheds, awaiting an important announcement from the Fat Controller. Engines from all the branch lines, Misty Island, the Search and Rescue Centre, and the Main Line had gathered. Even Den, Dart, and Victor had come from Crovan's Gate and Vicarstown (Victor had been carried on a flat truck) to hear this announcement. Clearly, this was important.

All the engines were chatting to themselves, exchanging greetings and talking about the recent news from their parts of the Island. None of them had interacted with everyone all the time, and so there was always someone new for them to talk to.

Soon enough, however, the Fat Controller's blue car pulled up, and the engines all fell silent. Behind him was a dark olive military Jeep, which was covered in a strange pattern of colours in different areas. Two men stepped out, both accompanied by a group of people that followed them up to the engines.

The Fat Controller was easily recognizable, his size and persona being legendary amongst the engines. Gentle but firm, he was a powerful figure for the engines, and was always ready to tell them off or praise them, depending on what they did. The other man, however, was a stranger to them all and was quite different in his appearance.

This gentleman was dressed in a sharp uniform, with polished black boots and a special hat. His horn-rimmed glasses flashed in the cold sunlight as he strode across the yards – he was walking with a stick, but he seemed to be walking without its assistance perfectly well. A black eye patch covered his right eye, while his left scanned the yards without ceasing to give the engines a thorough gaze each. It was sharp, and shrewd – a few of the engines shivered slightly.

The two men strode to the turntable with their entourages, both clambering upon Duck's cab and waiting for silence. They did not wait long; the engines were too transfixed by the stranger's appearance to speak any further.

"As you all know, our Island has had some difficult times in our past," the Fat Controller began, speaking loudly and clearly for all his engines to hear. "We have had attacks upon our Island before, and we most likely will again in the future. The army from the Mainland has always come to help us through these times, in addition to our own national army – however, we cannot continue this arrangement any longer. Times have changed. That is why we feel we need a military base set up on Sodor."

The engines buzzed with interest, stopping when they noticed the Fat Controller waiting to continue. "The army has agreed to open a base at Ffarquhar, with a permanent rail link between our line and theirs. They will have a few of their engines working trains through our line on drills and exercises – this should not affect your daily routines too much –"

The Fat Controller stopped speaking. At first, no one was sure why – then, they realized that the gentleman had moved forward, apparently interested in speaking to the engines himself. With a courtesy motion, the Fat Controller stood aside to let him speak.

"This Island is a strategic base for our operations here," he said sharply, not even bothering to introduce himself. "It's a key location in battle, and we have decided we need our base of operations here. We will be running out our practices and exercises along your line – and you will accept it. There will be no questions on it. Our line is going to be strategically placed – we will be able to carry out our exercises there."

"Will the army be here forever, sir?" Percy asked.

The gentleman glared at Percy so poignantly that he fell silent immediately, slightly shivering. After a moment, the gentleman seemed to restrain himself from shouting, and spoke: "We will not be on this Island permanently – we will be here conducting our exercises and tests, and then we will be back to the Mainland. We will be here until we are done – YOU do not need to know any more."

The engines were taken aback by this man's abrupt and slightly rude demeanor – he certainly was not friendly like the Fat Controller.

"The army will eventually build a permanent base on Sodor, but for now will be stationed at Ffarquhar," the Fat Controller explained. "If all goes well, they may consider setting up a permanent location there. I trust that my branch line engines will be willing to co-operate with them during their stay?"

With agreement from the engines, the two men made to leave. Then:

"Pardon, sirs! We don't know what to call our visitor," Edward called respectfully. "We would like to know what to call him when we see him."

The gentleman gazed at Edward for a moment. "I will be known as… the General, to you. Stay clear of our operations and you'll all be fine." On that note, he turned away, striding back to his Jeep. The engines' astonished silence did not dissipate until he had left, and when they at last did resume talking, several of the engines' trains ended up running late due to their eagerness to talk of the General's visit.

* * *

><p>The army soon set up its base near Ffarquhar Station. At first, the engines were unaware of anything happening – the army's base was set up a ways away from the yards at Ffarquhar, hidden in the woods nearby. With the copious amounts of camouflage being used, no one would have known anything unusual was present – save for the new patch of rails running into the trees and out of sight, which were one day spray-painted into a rusty colour and covered in weeds.<p>

Over time, the engines started to see some new locomotives running trains on the Island. The first, a large Class 37 diesel, was first spotted running a short train from Brendam to the base. At first, Thomas was worried about the state of his track, but the driver explained how the line was being upgraded and strengthened to carry the weight of the visitors.

Soon enough, the diesel was joined by another, and then another. No one could tell where these engines had come from – it just seemed that, one day, they had shown up and worked as if they had been on the Island for ages. The army engines were quick to ignore any questions the engines posed them about their sudden appearances on Sodor.

No one could tell what the army engines were doing – for months, they did not speak to anyone, merely carrying out their duties as planned. Salty and Cranky were sworn to secrecy at the docks, and the staff working there was even less helpful. There was great confusion and chatter about the railway.

At Dryaw, Thomas was picking up passengers when one of the diesels rolled by. Its train was long and heavy, filled with equipment covered in tarpaulins. Thomas whistled in greeting, but the diesel did not respond – he hadn't even appeared to have noticed Thomas. None of the engines seemed to respond to him or any of the Sudrian engines.

In a siding, another engine did respond – Rosie whistled a greeting to Thomas, smiling at him. She seemed more worn out than usual; there were dark rings around her eyes, and her pink coloring in her cheeks was deeper than usual. Nevertheless, her smile upon seeing Thomas was as genuine as always, if perhaps a bit weaker than usual. Thomas was worried.

"Hello, Rosie. How are things?" he asked kindly.

"Fine, Thomas – lots of work to do. Got to keep busy, you know!" Rosie bubbled; she seemed to be trying harder to retain her cheery self. "Lots of work to do, and the… army… it's just so busy, trying to work around them…"

"Rosie? Are you all right?"

Rosie noticed Thomas looking at her with concern. Her heart melted as she realized he was worried about her, and longed to tell him the truth. "I'm fine, Thomas – lots to do. Can't delay – I'm on my way!"

Wincing at the rhyme, Thomas watched Rosie puff out of the yards. He was concerned… something was bothering her. Thomas wanted to help his love… he resolved to keep a closer eye on her, and ask her what was wrong later that evening.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance.

* * *

><p>Rosie was shunting at Ffarquhar after having brought in a local goods train. The day had been long, and uncomfortable. She had pulled several heavy trains, with the trucks giving her no end of grief throughout. The army engines had been eyeing her with an unhealthy interest – it worried her immensely. At the moment, she had finished shunting, and had ambled over to the empty sidings for a brief rest, before her next goods was due out.<p>

As she sat in a siding watching the orange glow of the sun, a voice whispered to her: "You are an army engine, and you always will be."

Rosie jumped, shaking as one of the army diesels rolled alongside her. It was the first time any of the Sudrian engines had heard them speak. Percy had been joking the other day about whether or not they even COULD talk… at the moment, though, Rosie desperately wished that they could not speak, least of all to her.

"Yes… I know your type. You come from ex-army stock. Austerity and all that… we owe you so much." The diesel was calm, to say nothing of how Rosie was feeling.

"T-Thank you," Rosie puffed quietly. "I don't like to talk about it… it's too much… no one would understand…"

"Then you should re-enlist. Join us again. We know what it is like, and we know how it is to fight."

The tank engine went pale. "No. No, no, I can't. I WON'T. I… it was too much. I really don't want to."

"It's not a matter of if you WANT to… but of if you NEED to…" The diesel surveyed her with interest. "My engine, you are needed on our side. We need you to help us and our nation."

Rosie gave the engine a look of utter loathing. "I've 'helped' you before. I don't ever want to do it again. Go away. Please."

"Ah, yes… the Big One… you must have served then… where were you assigned? I assume you were on the continent…"

"France." Rosie shuddered upon remembering. "Near the end. I was transferred back here after it all ended, and worked the South Coast until I came to Sodor."

"Yes, I see… you have my respect, and the respect of every engine and man on our base." The diesel looked at Rosie with such intensity and respect that she became very uncomfortable. "It was interesting, wasn't it… what you had to do… you and your family were heroes…"

"That's funny," Rosie said bitterly, "because I always think of us as villains. You made us… we had to… go away. I don't want to talk to you or any of you anymore."

"You saved lives."

"I stole them."

The diesel surveyed Rosie with interest. "You will rejoin us. It will happen. You will serve your nation. You will be a hero, a saviour once more. You will give yourself for us all."

Rosie was trembling from anger and upset. "Get away from me, or I'll scream. I swear I will. I'll NEVER go back with you. Your tactics… you disgust me."

"It's who you are, engine… it's who you always have been… it's who you will be… forever."

Rosie shuddered violently, then opened her mouth and let out a piercing scream. The yards were rent apart by the noise – everyone jumped, staring at the screaming engine. The diesel was gone before anyone even noticed it was there; the engine next to it had eclipsed it thoroughly.

It was fortunate that Thomas was close to the station with a passenger train. He hurried in, left his coaches at the platform, and raced over to Rosie. Thomas moved to her, carefully touching her buffers in an attempt to calm her down.

The effect was immediate – Rosie stopped screaming, reversing as far back as she could. It took her a moment to realize that it had been Thomas who had touched her. At that moment, Rosie's face flooded with redness and agony – she was trembling even more furiously, astonished at what she had done and what she had said.

"Rosie?" Thomas whispered. "A-are you all right?"

"No," Rosie whimpered, before she launched herself at Thomas, holding him as close to her trembling form as she could. Thomas, surprised, held Rosie close to him as she began to shake, holding back her tears. He could feel her quivering as he held her, whispering to her and trying to calm her down. Carefully, Thomas moved them to the sidings out of the way – he had to calm Rosie down before their trains were due out.

"Rosie… it's all right… my love…" Thomas whispered to her, kissing her brow as she trembled. "Oh, my love… what's happened? What's going on?"

"T-Thomas… I'm… the army… I really don't like them here, Thomas…" Rosie's face had gone red with embarrassment at her outburst, and from her hidden torment – something more was bothering her, and Thomas knew it.

"Oh, Rosie… what's wrong? Please, love, just tell me. I want to know," he said, whispering to his love. "Why does the army affect you like this? I know they're disrupting our timetable…"

"… it's m-more than that, Thomas… they… I…"

"What did they do to you, my love?"

"What? W-what do you mean, Thomas?" Rosie had gone slightly paler with the question, looking at Thomas with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Rosie… it's all right… what's wrong, Rosie? Why don't you like the army so much?" Thomas kissed Rosie's brow again, holding her as she shook from the unknown demons that consumed her. "You can cry, Rosie… it's okay…"

"N-no… I can't cry… Thomas…" Rosie simply trembled even more, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"What's wrong, my love? What happened with the army?"

"I… I worked with them, long ago… they were… I… I c-can't… oh! I'm going to be late!"

Thomas looked at the clock at the station; Rosie's train would indeed be due out in a few minutes. He was desperate to find out why Rosie was so bothered by the army, but he knew he would not be able to keep her from her duties. "Could you at least promise me you'll talk about it later tonight, Rosie? Please?"

Rosie hiccoughed, blinking back tears as she tried to regain control. "T-Thomas… I c-can't. Please, don't ask me why, but I just can't. I promise I won't let this happen again."

"Rosie! Please, just tell me what's wrong – I want to help!"

"Please, Thomas," Rosie whispered, "d-don't make this harder for me. I just can't talk about it… I can't."

"All right, Rosie – we won't talk about this. Just know that I love you, and I only want to help you."

Thomas backed away to collect his train, watching Rosie carefully. It took all of her strength to keep herself from crying after Thomas had left… she would NOT cry… it was a sign of weakness… and she was strong. Rosie was strong, and would not give in like this. Shaking, she carefully moved out of the sidings to collect her trucks – if they were wise, they would not try any tricks with her that day.


End file.
